Hall of Fame
Position: Halfback
Years: 1976-1979
Place of Birth: Los Angeles, CA
Date of Birth: Jan 22, 1958
Place of Death: Newport Beach, CA
Date of Death: January 11, 2023
Jersey Number: 12
Height: 6-0
Weight: 185
High School: San Fernando (San Fernando, CA)
A four-time letter winner, Charles White was a two-time unanimous First Team All-American and three-time all-conference performer. He twice led the nation in all-purpose yards (1978 and 1979 seasons) and was the most productive back in the country his senior year, averaging 6.2 yards a carry.
Southern California posted a 42-6-1 record with him on the field, including a No. 1 finish in the 1978 Coaches' Poll with Hall of Fame coach John Robinson and fellow Hall of Fame teammates Brad Budde, Marcus Allen, and Ronnie Lott. He helped the Trojans to four postseason victories, including three Rose Bowls where he would twice earn Player of the Game honors. In his last college game, he scored the last touchdown, with 92 seconds to play, as Southern California beat Ohio State 17-16 in the Rose Bowl.
In 1979, White won the Heisman, Maxwell and Walter Camp Player of the Year Awards. The 1979 team captain and two-time team MVP also won the Voit Trophy and finished fourth in the Heisman voting in 1978.
In his career he set 22 school, conference, or national records. His rushing total in regular-season games was 5,598 yards, second hightest in NCAA history at the time. When bowl games are added, he had 6,245 yards, making him the school's all-time rushing leader. White scored 49 touchdowns and boasted 31 100-yard games during his college career. He was USC's rushing leader in 1977 (1,478 yards), 1978 (1,859 yards) and 1979 (2,050 yards), as well as the school's total offense leader in 1978 (1,854 yards), scoring leader in 1978 (86 points) and 1979 (114 points) and kickoff return leader in 1976 (295 yards).
A first-round pick in the 1980 NFL Draft, White played in the pros with Cleveland (1980-84) and Los Angeles (1985-88) and led the NFL in rushing in 1987.
White returned to USC in 1990 as a special assistant to the athletic director. In 1993, he joined the Trojans football staff, coaching running backs until 1997. He then held an administrative job at USC. White is a member of the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame, the USC Athletic Hall of Fame, and the Pac-12 All-Century Team. He also was a hurdler on USC's 1979 track team.
